Boiler-tube cleaner.



E. L K. NOYES. BOILER TUBE CLEANER. APPLIUATION FILED AUG. 9. 1909.

Patented Apr. 19, 1910.

Z/Kkw UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD I. K. NOYES, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

BOILER-TUBE CLEANER.

Application filed August 9, 1909.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD I. K. NoYEs, of Somerville, in the county ofMiddlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Boiler-Tube Cleaners, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to a boiler tube cleaner which includes afrustooonical head adapted to be inserted in one end of a boiler tube,and provided with means for delivering into the tube a blast of steamand currents of air, the flow of which into the boiler tube is inducedby the steam blast, the blast of mingled air and steam passing forciblythrough the tube and cleaning the interior of the same. In practice,when a jet of steam is driven into a boiler tube through an ordinarysteam tube'cleaner, a large vol ume of cold air is drawn into the tubeby the action of the steam jet, and mixes with the steam, and bylowering the te1npcr ature of the steam, causes precipitation ofmoisture. This moisture mixes with the soot, forming a paste whichadheres to the walls of the tube, and is afterward baked into a hardscale which has to be removed by a scraper or wire brush.

The invention has for its object, first, to provide for the heating anddrying of all the air drawn into the boiler tube to such an extent thatprecipitation of moisture within the tube will not occur and the hot dryair will take up any natural moisture in the steam thus keeping the tubedry.

The invention also has for its object to provide a sectionalconstruction in a tube cleaner of this character, which will enable theprincipal parts of the cleaner head to be cast in such form as toprovide air conducting passages, the major portions of the walls ofwhich constitute radiating surfaces which are backed by live steam, andare therefore adapted to impart a high degree of heat to the air passingthrough the heat.

The invention consists in the improvements which I will now proceed todescribe and claim.

Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of thisspecification,Figure 1 represents a longitudinal section of a tubecleaner embodying my invention, the cleaner head being shown engagedwith one end of a boiler tube. Fig. 2 represents a section on line 22 ofFig. 1. Fig. 3 represents a sec- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 19, 1910.

Serial No. 511,919.

tion on line 3-3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 represents a side elevation of thesection of the cleaner head which constitutes the discharge nozzle, andcooperates with the external shell in forming the air outlet ordischarge passages. Fig. 5 represents a section on line 5-5 of Fig. 4.Fig. 6 represents a section on line 6-6 of Fig. 4.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all thefigures.

In the drawings, 12 represents a frustoconical shell adapted to bepartially in serted in one end of a boiler tube 13. In said shell isclosely fitted a head of frustoconical form. The larger end portion ofthe head constitutes a steam chamber 14, having a steam inlet with whichis engaged a steam supply pipe 15. The smaller end of the headconstitutes a steam delivering nozzle 16, the bore or passage 17 ofwhich communicates with the interior of the chamber 14. The said steamchamber and nozzle are preferably made in two independent parts having ascrew thread or other detachable connection at 18. The steam chamber 14is provided with a series of longitudinally extending, inwardlyprojecting, straight hollow bosses 19, the major portions of which arewithin the periphery of the steam chamber, and are backed by the steamspace therein, so that heat is radiated from the steam chamber into allparts of longitudinal air inlet passages 20 which are formed by theouter surfaces of the bosses 19, and by the portions of the shell whichextend across said bosses, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The sides of thebosses 19 are radially. arranged and are in relatively close proximityto each other, so that the depth of each air passage 20 from theperiphery toward the center of the steam chamber is much greater thanits width, or the distance between the radial sides of the bosses theair passages being therefore relatively deep and narrow. Provision isthus made for highly heating the air passing through the passages 20.

The tapering periphery of the nozzle 16 is provided with a series ofgrooves 21 which are preferably arranged diagonally or spirally, asshown in Fig. 4, these grooves cooperating with the portions of theshell which extend across them in forming air outlet passages which aregrouped around the nozzle, and deliver jets of the heated air to theinterior of the boiler tube 13, there being a suitable communicationbetween the said air outlet passages and the air heating inlet passages.

The combined capacity of the air inlet passages in the steam chamber isgreater than that of the air outlet passages in the nozzle, so that theair drawn into the boiler tube by the vacuum caused by the forcibleinrush of steam into the tube, will pass slowly into the inlet passagesin close contact with the hot walls thereof, and will be thoroughlydried and heated before reaching the interior of the tube and mixingwith the steam, thus preventing any condensation of the steam andprecipitation of moisture on the walls of the tube. The relatively smallcapacity of the air outlet passages in the nozzle causes the air to passthrough said passages with great Velocity so that a powerful blast ofhot dry air is induced within the boiler tube. The spiral direction ofthe air outlet passages gives the blast of hot air a whirling motionwithin the boiler tube, thus increasing the effectiveness of thecleaning operation. The air inlet passages are preferably straight sothat the frictional resistance to the air passing through them isreduced to the minimum.

In the preferred embodiment of my in Vention here shown, a reverberatoryair chamber 22 is formed between the air inlet and air outlet passages,the inner end portion of the nozzle being reduced to form a neck 23which constitutes the inner wall of the chamber, the side walls of whichare formed by opposed surfaces 011 the steam chamber and nozzle, whilethe outer wall of the chamber is formed by the surrounding portion ofthe shell 12, the air chamber being of annular form.

The capacity of the air chamber is such that the hot air which enters itthrough the air heating inlet passages is maintained substantially atatmospheric pressure so that the inward flow of air through the airheating passages is not unduly accelerated, but passes at a relativelyslow rate through said passages and is thoroughly heated before reachingthe air chamber. The hot air accumulating in the air chamber isdistributed to the contracted air outlet passages sur rounding thenozzle.

By constructing the conical head in a plurality of separate sections, Iam enabled to cast said sections in the forms shown, no difiiculty beingexperienced in casting the steam chamber 14, with its relatively deepand narrow inwardly projecting bosses 19, first, because said bosses arestraight, and secondly, because ample openings are permitted in the endsof the steam chamber. The said sections formed as shown, provide airheating inlet passages adapted as described to thoroughly heat theentering air, air outlet passages having a spiral arrangement and theinner and side walls of a reverberatory annular air chamber. i believemyself to be the first, however, to provide a steam tube cleaner havinga frusto-eonieal head located within a frusto-conical shell, andprovided first, with straight air inlet passages formed in straightinwardly projecting hollow bosses, the major portions of the walls ofwhich are located within the periphery of the head, and are backed bythe steam space so that the walls of the bosses constitute effectiveheat radiators adapted to thoroughly heat air passing through the same,and secondly, air outlet passages grouped around a steam dischargenozzle and of smaller capacity than the inlet passages. So far as theseand other features of my invention are concernel, I do not limit myselfto a sectional formation of the head, although for the reasons stated, Iconsider this highly desirable.

I claim 1. A boiler tube cleaner comprising a frusto-conical shelladapted to enter a boiler tube-end, and a frusto-conical head fittingthe interior of the shell, the larger end portion of the head forming asteam chamber having a steam inlet, and straight relatively deep andnarrow inwardly projecting hollow bosses the major portions of the wallsof which are within the periphery of the steam chamber and are backed bythe steam space therein, said walls radiating heat into relatively deepand narrow air inlet passages formed by their outer surfaces and by theshell, the smaller end portion of the head forming a steam dischargenozzle having grooves in its periphery forming, wit-h the shell, aseries of air outlet passages, which comnmnieato with the said inlet passages, and are of smaller capacity than the latter.

A boiler tube cleaner comprising a frusto-conical shell adapted to entera boiler tube-end, and a frusto-conical head fitting the interior of theshell, the larger end portion of the head forming a steam chamber havinga steam inlet, and straight relatively deep and narrow inwardlyprojecting hollow bosses, the major portions of the walls of which arewithin the periphery of the steam chamber and are backed by the steamspace therein, said bosses and the shell forming substantially straightrelatively deep and narrow air inlet passages, the smaller end portionof the head forming a steam dis charge nozzle having oblique grooves inits periphery forming, with the shell, a series of oblique air outletpassages, which communicate with the said inlet pasages, and are ofsmaller capacity than the latter.

3. A boiler tube-cleaner comprising a frusto-conical shell adapted toenter a boiler tube end, and a frusto-conical head fitting the interiorof said shell, the larger end portion of the head forming a steamchamber, and its smaller end portion a steam delivering nozzle, theexternal formation of the body being such as to form, with the shell, areverberatory air chamber between the ends of the body, a series ofstraight air heating inlet passages extending from the larger end of thebody to the air chamber, and a series of oblique air outlet passagesextending from the air chamber to the smaller end of the head, and ofsmaller ca pacity than the air inlet passages.

4. A boiler tube-cleaner comprising a trusto-conical shell adapted toenter a boiler tube-end, and a frusto-conical head fitting the interiorof said shell and composed of a plurality of detachably connectedsections, one of which is a steam chamber forming the larger end of thehead and having a steam inlet, while another is a steam discharge nozzleforming the smaller end of the head, a portion of the head being reducedto form, with the shell, an annular reverberatory air chamber, betweenthe ends of the head, and the said sections having straight longitudinalair passages which cooperate with the shell in forming a series of airinlets extending from the larger end 1 air chamber to the'smaller end ofthe head.

5. A boiler tube-cleaner comprising a frusto-conical shell adapted toenter a boiler tube-end and a frusto-conical head fitting the interiorof said shell and composed of two sections one of which is a steamchamber having a steam inlet, while the other is a steam deliveringnozzle, one section hav ing a reduced neck detachably secured to theother section and forming, with the adjacent end portions of thesections and the shell, an annular reverberatory air chamber, the steamychamber and nozzle having longitudinal channels which cooperate with theshell in forming a series of air inlets extending from the larger end ofthe shell to the air chamber, and a series of air outlets extending fromthe air chamber to the smaller end of the head.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature, in presence of twowitnesses.

EDXVARD I. K. NOYES.

YVitnesses A. C. RA'rIeAN,

P. V. PEZZETTI.

